反折果薹草 fan zhe guo tai cao

Rhizome robust and elongate, ligneous. Culms loosely tufted, 60-100 cm tall, rather thick, compressed triquetrous, smooth, with purple-brown bladeless sheaths at base. Leaves shorter than culm, blades 1-1.8 cm wide, flat, with distinct midrib and 2 lateral veins on both surfaces, upper surface smooth, lower surface loosely hispidulous; sheaths rather long. Involucral bracts leaflike, longer than subtending spike, sheaths rather long, but upper ones very short. Spikes 4 or 5, lower 2 remote, upper ones contiguous; terminal spike male, cylindric, 3-6 cm, shortly pedunculate; lateral spikes female, cylindric, 4-10 cm, loosely many flowered, lower 2 rather long pedunculate, upper ones shortly pedunculate or subsessile. Female glumes brown, dark green at middle, ovate, ca. 5 mm (including length of awn), 3-veined, apex with long awn, awn scabrous on margins. Utricles dark brown-green, obliquely patent, horizontally patent or reflexed later, ovate or obovate, slightly inflated trigonous, 4-5 mm, membranous, inconspicuously 3-5-veined, slightly shiny, base obtusely rounded, apex abruptly contracted into a long beak, orifice obliquely truncate. Nutlets yellowish, rather tightly enveloped, elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2 mm, apex mucronate; style base slightly thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Mar-Apr.

● Wet places in forests. N Zhejiang (Hangzhou).